This week I was welcomed to Tucson to visit a friend and take it all in there. I only had a day as I was just passing through, but I did get a little taste of what it offers. Tuscon is the 2nd largest city in Arizona and is known for being sort of an oasis in the middle of the Sonoran desert.
There’s an art scene here, museums, and a ton of opportunities for nature and backpacking enthusiasts with the surrounding Santa Catalinas and Rincon mountain ranges and breathtaking scenery. And then there’s also the amazing sunsets! Just check out my friend’s backyard view at right! So with all my choices, what would I choose to do with my brief 16-hour stay? Go dancing of course!
Yes, in spite of all the interesting things to do and see here, what the dancing was like in Tucson was of course paramount in my mind. My friend that lives here goes regularly to a place called The Maverick King of Clubs. And for a while, I’ve been curious about what it is like. I knew they loved to do Country Swing there, so I expected just a whole night of that, which is okay, but what I walked into happily surprised me!
The Maverick King of Clubs is Tucson’s go-to country music and dance hall for serious line dancers and those looking for live country music as well as great food, drinks, or a great pool hall. Open 5 days a week with live country music Thursday-Saturday nights.
The night that I went out to The Maverick was a Wednesday, so that was the night I would sample. The weekends feature live country bands, dance lessons, and then open dancing all night. But Wednesday is really The Maverick’s Line Dance night! Read on to find out about what The Maverick is all about and especially what it offers for us hooked on country bar line dancing! And, yes Country Swing dancers are featured here too!
Table of Contents
The Maverick King of Clubs – A Special Country Bar
Weekends at The Maverick (Thursday-Sunday)
Line Dance Wednesdays
Dance Lessons at The Maverick – Great Instructors!
The Maverick Location, Hours & Cover Charge
Facebook & Instagram – Latest Happenings at The Maverick!
Other Dancing Venues in Tucson
The Maverick King of Clubs – A Special Country Bar
Since my discovery of country dancing and dance saloons several years ago, I’m always curious and on the lookout for more good places to go. On this trip out to Tucson, checking out The Maverick did not disappoint!
Maverick King of Clubs has all the features you look for and more in a country bar. The Maverick is known as an institution in Tucson and is well known to the community. The bar is under fairly new ownership and they have done a great job at adding some great things to an already good experience.
Prevailing Through the Years – A Brief History
While the Maverick has been a long-time fixture in Tucson, it has gone through some ups and downs in its over 50-year history. Since it first opened its doors in 1962 the ownership has changed 3 times. The bar had to close twice in 1976 and then in 2002 due to fire but has been brought back both times. The second fire in 2002 gutted the building but then owner Mo Farhang vowed to rebuild.
Mo fulfilled that promise and brought the bar back to open months later bigger and better than the original and also in a new location moving the bar across town to its current location on E. Tanque Verde Rd. It seems the best days of the Maverick were still ahead despite these tragic moments. What has risen (literally) from the ashes is a great thriving country dance hall and live music venue!
Fun Fact: While The Maverick was a total loss with the 2002 fire, the “Live Country Music” sign out front was unharmed and a new home was found for it inside to the left of the stage!
Over the years the Maverick has seen its share of great country stars come across its stage including Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, The Bellamy Brothers, Restless Heart, Waylon Jennings, and Blake Shelton! The bar continues to host live country music bringing in local bands and still occasional national artists. The houseband Flipside of course entertains regularly.
In 2005 the new owner at the time, Jay Zucker improved the dancehall even more with an enlarged dance floor among other things. Today’s current owners Grant Krueger and Katerina Papoutsis continue to improve the Maverick focusing on the menu, happy hour pricing, and the club’s sound system to make the live entertainment nights even better. It seems the club is in good hands and has a lot of good times ahead for the Tucson dancing community there.
The Maverick King of Clubs – Good Eats and Room to Party!
While I was mainly enraptured with what was happening on the dance floor, it needs to be said how well-rounded the entertainment venue of Mavericks is. The drinks are well priced and the food is really great. I got a cheeseburger and as soon as I saw the branded boot on the brioche bun I knew I had a good burger waiting for me!
Besides the food and drinks when you come in and stay awhile you’ll notice the large adjacent lounge in the back with two pool tables and plenty of more tables and chairs. There’s really a lot of room for the guests at The Maverick, whether you’re there to dance or just hang with friends.
Weekends at The Maverick – Thursday-Sunday, Schedule, and Cover Charge
So, what are weekends like at The Maverick King of Clubs? First of all by “weekend” I mean Thursday-Sunday! I love it when a country bar is open on a Thursday night! The Maverick typically offers live music Thursday-Sunday! The club brings in local country bands and singers Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday with their house band, Flipside along with DJ Porkchop taking on Friday nights!
You can find a full dance floor of course on any given weekend night. Probably the likes of something like the video below that shows some Country Swing dancers tearing up the dance floor. But look closely, and you’ll notice that these dancers also dance the Arizona Two Step! I think it’s interesting that this largely in-place dance serves as a little breather between the high-energy bursts of all the Country Swing patterns.
I tried some of this out myself with my dance partner and it works pretty well! If you need to still learn the AZ Two Step check out the lesson schedule below! Kennedy can help you out with that on Thursday nights!
For all the details of what specifically goes on Thursday thru Saturday check below for their weekend activities at a glance with all the details:
Thursdays
Live Country Music/Special Events
No Cover Charge
Fridays
Friday Night Country House Party with Flipside
$5 Cover after 8 pm
Saturdays
Live Country Music/Special Events
Saturdays begin with their Cowboy Brunch which is available from 11 am-4 pm and continues into the night with live music and dancing.
Drink specials: $3 House Margaritas & $4 Beer of the Month after 8 pm
$5 Cover after 8 pm
Sundays
Live Country Music/Special Events
Sundays also offer their Cowboy Brunch from 11 am-4 pm. Check their schedule for what is happening on a given Sunday at the Maverick.
Drink specials: $5 Titos Bloody Marys, Titos, Jack Daniels. $15 Endless Mimosas
No Cover Charge
The weekends at The Maverick are always a great time with a variety of country music artists featured or unique events. Recently a Friday night in June featured their 15th Annual Beach Party, which was a fun time. Everyone was encouraged to come in their beach attire. See their Facebook for some pictures!
Line Dance Wednesdays
Besides the great weekends at The Maverick, there are also exciting Wednesday nights! And as I mentioned, this was the night I came by to check this place out. I love partner dancing, but also really love line dancing as well, and you could say I came on the right night! Line dancing is alive and well at The Maverick and is in really good hands with the instructors that teach there!
I had a great night, but the main thing that surprised me was how much is offered for what they charge. First of all, there isn’t a cover charge to get in on Wednesday nights. The line dance lessons are $5.00. What is amazing is what you get for just 5 bucks! At other places, I’m used to typically 2 dances taught, but on Wednesdays, teachers Art Corral with his wife Elaine and also Karen and Terry teach line dancing for a solid two hours!
The lessons start at 5:30 and go straight through to 7:30. You’ll get in on some good beginner dances and also some improver dances as well. They will do some quick reviews or walk-throughs on dances they’ve taught in the past and just keep the group dancing! Art Corral has an email list you can get on to keep up with what is coming up.
This is really great since it gives you the chance to look up the up-and-coming dances and practice if you want. The way a typical night goes is that the first hour has a beginner dance and then a bar dance. I especially like that they put that bar dance on the schedule since there are always new people who may have never learned some of the common staple dances seen at a country bar.
When I was there Art started off with a beginner dance (You Proof EZ by Tonja Bolding) and then the bar dance was Drink In My Hand by Sandy Goodman. In the second hour, Terry took over and taught the more challenging Bambalam by Rick Dominguez and Jonno Liberman, and then the bar dance Church Clap. Check out even more of the dances they’ve been teaching below:
| First Dance | Bar Dance | Teacher(s) |
| The Next Girl by Michelle Jackson | Power Jam by Kathi Stringer | Beginner Dances: Art & Elaine |
| Off The Chain by Fred Whitehouse | Country Girl Shake by Michele Adlam & Maria Hennings Hunt | Improver Dances: Terry |
| Fuzzy Duck Slide by Virginia Smith | Hicktown by Unknown | Beginner Dances: Art & Elaine |
| 3 Tequila Floor by Maddison Glover & Jo Thompson Szymanski | Honky Tonk Way by Landon James Purvis & Mark Paulino | Improver Dances: Terry |
| Feels Like Gold by Trevor Thornton & Janis Graves | Watermelon Crawl by Sue Lipscomb | Beginner Dances: Art & Elaine |
| Trendin’ by Jo & John Kinser, Ruben Luna & Sobrielo Philip Gene | The Wolf by Jonno Liberman | Improver Dances: Terry |
But at 7:30 don’t think the line dancing is over! Wednesday night is really their night for the line dancers. DJs Porkchop and Blade will throw in some country music for the Two Steppers and Country Swing dancers, as shown in the video above, but for the most part, this is a night to get your line dancing in. For even more info about what Art Corral and the line dance instructors have going on in Tucson check out their great website detailing it all! TUCSON LINE DANCING
But now that I’ve broken down Wednesdays, know that they do the two hours of line dance lessons also every Saturday as well! Lastly, from the video I’ve included above, you’ll see there are some great line dancers at The Maverick and they really know their dances–no surprise!
Dance Lessons at The Maverick – Great Instructors!
Besides the great line dance instructors on Wednesday, they have other instructors to help new people get started with the Arizona (Rhythm) Two Step, as well as Country Swing! See below for how the days break down when there’s instruction going on, but check their dance lesson schedule as well in case something has changed. You’ll notice Art Corral and company back on Saturday with another 2 hr. $5.00 session!
| Day | Time | Style | Cost | Instructors |
| Monday-Tuesday | Closed | – | – | – |
| Wednesdays | 5:30-6:30 (Beg.) 6:30-7:30 pm (Imp.) | Line Dancing–All Styles | $5 per person | Art & Elaine Corral, Karen, and Terry |
| Thursdays | 7-8 pm | AZ Rhythm Two Step | FREE | Kennedy |
| Fridays | 7-8 pm | Country Swing | FREE | Stephanie Marts |
| Saturdays | 5-6 pm (Beg.) 6-7 pm (Imp.) | Line Dancing–All Styles | $5 per person | Art & Elaine Corral, Karen, and Terry |
The Maverick Location, Hours & Cover Charge
Located at 6622 E Tanque Verde Rd, Tucson, AZ 85715. See hours below:
| Day | Hours | Cover Charge |
| Sunday | 11 am-11 pm | No Cover |
| Monday-Tuesday | Closed | – |
| Wednesday | 5 pm-11 pm | No Cover |
| Thursday | 2 pm-11 pm | No Cover |
| Friday-Saturday | 11 am-2 am | Cover after 8 pm |
Facebook & Instagram – Latest Happenings at The Maverick!
Check out The Maverick’s social media feeds for up-to-date information and also lots of pictures of past events!
Other Dancing Venues in Tucson
Besides Mavericks King of Clubs also be sure to visit Whiskey Road! And do drop me a note if you do to let me know how these country dance saloons compare and how they are different!
